October 7, 2017

Although it is not the only factor in deciding how wealthy an individual is, disposable income does have a significant influence. If you have little or no money after taxes and expenses, then it is hard to save and invest for the future. In this article, we’ll look at four ways you can increase your disposable income. The four ways are get a raise- or a second job, start a business, investing income, and spend less. Getting a raise is one of the easiest ways to increase your disposable income this can be achieved by continuing your education, taking a pay cut in exchange for performance bonuses, and there are other guides that can help you in getting a raise. Another way is to get a second job, however the draw back to this approach as an employee as your income increases you will be pushed into a higher tax bracket. Starting a business is another way of increasing your disposable income. The difference between having a small business vs a job is that with a business you can lower your tax liability. Some of your business write-offs can even be claimed against other income sources, but you have to follow the rules carefully. (See also: Capital Gains Tax Cuts For Middle Income Investors.) The major drawback of starting a business is that there is no guarantee of success or income like there is with a raise or a second job. Starting a business takes a certain type of person, one with the motivation and the ability to handle the details involved in implementing an idea. The time, effort and nerves that it takes to run a business (that has no certainty of success) means that very few people will take this route.

Investing income is considered a form of passive income. This is a misnomer because it does take active effort to create income from investing – you have to research investments, build and maintain your portfolio, etc. – but it is generally considered to take less effort than, let’s say, shoveling concrete day in and day out. Investing income can come from stocks, bonds, real estate, or many other forms. The common theme is that they ideally produce a return on the money you put into them. (See also: A Guide To Portfolio Construction.) Creating income through investing is a process of accumulation. Even if you consistently get a return on investments (ROI) of 20%, if you only have $1,000 in the investment, you will add a little less than $200 to your yearly income after any fees and taxes have been paid (and there is no guarantee of consistent returns of even 10%). Searching for stocks with a history of dividends, sometimes called income stocks, can help create some income now, but it will still not be as rapid in results as a second job. As you put more money in, however, more money comes out in the form of returns. Investing is a great way to increase your disposable income in the long run, but it won’t do wonders for your immediate situation unless you have a huge chunk of capital just sitting around. Investing takes patience, time and discipline (it is also subject to taxation). That said, it is one of the surest ways to gradually add to your disposable income without exerting yourself too much. Finally, spending less will increase your disposable income. Having a budget and knowing how much exactly comes in and how much exactly goes out and when it goes out is key to setting aside more money for investing. Each of these four steps should be a part of your life strategy. It’s your money and the choices are yours. What is your vision and what is your legacy?

Andrew Left is back at it again. The Citron Research founder tweeted on Wednesday that the Canadian e-commerce company Shopify was a “business dirtier than Herbalife.” He also posted a seven-minute YouTube video outlining his bear case, titled “Citron Exposes the Dark Side of Shopify — The FTC Will Take Notice,” and posted a report to his firm’s website. In the video, Left lays out the big question he has around the company: Outside the roughly 50,000 verifiable merchants working with Shopify, who are the other 450,000 the company says it has? According to Left, many of them are, among other things, influencers paid to promote the company. “Shopify, a company that has mastered the good ol’ get-rich-quick scheme,” Left says in the video. “What’s never discussed by Wall Street is the real business behind Shopify.” Left set a target price of $60 on the stock which was 49% below the closing price on Tuesday and on Wednesday the stock dropped by 14%. Whether or not his claims are true, when he speaks the market listens and responds in kind. But Left is perhaps best known for his damning October 2015 report that accused Valeant Pharmaceuticals of being a “pharmaceutical Enron,” and he helped bring up questions regarding the firm’s accounting and relationship with the specialty pharmacy Philidor. I’ve included the link to Citron Research here: http://www.citronresearch.com/ If you’re going to increase your knowledge in any asset class, you need to learn from people wiser than you, and trust in your God given gifts. Living in the Information Age, you have full access to as much information as you could possibly want. Carve out a half an hour to a few hours of your day to increase your knowledge and look for scenarios to apply it. Keep it simple, how can I make money, how can I money make money, and how do I repeat steps 1 and 2 to infinity?